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Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 10th day of the year. There are 355 days remaining in 2017.

Lawmakers are wary of a proposed tax hike to fund Utah's schools. Barack Obama prepares to give his farewell speech. The confirmation hearings for Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General begin Tuesday.

The clock:

10 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President (1/20/2017)

13 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)

58 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)

301 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)

665 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)

1393 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Ten talking points for Tuesday:

Planning ahead. Get a jump on 2017 with our "master calendar" of key political dates for the next year [Utah Policy].

School funding battle looming. Utah lawmakers are very wary of a proposed income tax hike to fund public schools as they worry the measure could slow down Utah's economy [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune]. Lawmakers are also starting to push back against the proposal even before proponents get started [Utah Policy].

Show them how to say goodbye. President Barack Obama heads to Chicago to deliver his farewell address tonight [Washington Post].

Confirmation squabble. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's pick for Attorney General, goes before the Judiciary Committee Tuesday for his confirmation hearing [New York Times]. Sen. Cory Booker will testify against Sessions during the confirmation process, marking the first time a sitting senator testifies against another sitting senator during a confirmation hearing [CNN].

Obamacare latest. A group of moderate Republicans in the Senate want to slow down the speeding train racing to repeal Obamacare to give Republicans more time to find a replacement [Politico].

Aggressive reform agenda. Rep. Jason Chaffetz plans to pursue some changes as chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that has many federal workers on edge [Washington Post].

Hate crimes redux. Sen. Daniel Thatcher is bringing back a hate crimes proposal to the 2017 legislature, but he's hoping to keep the focus on the perpetrator of the crime instead of the victim [Deseret News].

Chaffetz Plans to Block D.C. Law Allowing Assisted SuicideBy Golden WebbRep.Jason Chaffetz says he'll use rarely invoked congressional authority to nix a law recently passed by theCouncil of the District of Columbiathat would enabledoctors in the nation's capital to help terminally ill patients commit suicide....

Policy News

EDCUtah to Present 3 Economic Development AwardsDuring EDCUtah's annual meeting the organization will present its annual economic development awards to Derek Miller, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, John Curtis, mayor of Provo City, and Mark Gibbons, president of City Creek Reserve....

Luncheon with the Consul General of Israel World Trade Center Utah, in partnership with the Governor's Office of Economic Development and the Salt Lake Chamber, is delighted to welcome the Honorable Sam Grundwerg, Consul General of Israel....

Governor's Medal for Science and Technology Winners AnnouncedGov. Gary R. Herbert, along with the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, announced the winners of the 2016 Governor’s Medals for Science and Technology. The medals will be presented to 11 individuals ...

Job For Romney "Turns out the Mormon tabernacle choir is scheduled to perform, but over the weekend, a choir member resigned because she didn't want to perform for Trump. Now the choir needs to fill that empty spot with a Mormon who has free time and can sing - Trump has a job for Mitt Romney after all!" Stephen Colbert

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